Dining (and kitchen and living room) lighting

The title of my post implies that when we add something to the "dining room" it's actually also in the kitchen and living room.

This is one of the major bonuses of decorating a small space, in my opinion!

I may or may not have mentioned that our dining area is equipped with a light socket, and after months of saving up our ZONE gift cards (thank you friends and family for the birthday, house warming and wedding gifts!) we had enough to purchase a ceiling light!  

Originally I was really excited about this guy:

And after receiving approval from friends and colleagues that it was the right choice it was time to introduce Derek to the amethyst pendant.  He really liked it, but also wanted to look around for himself, which is when he stumbled upon this guy:

Even though it was not my first choice, I really liked it (not to mention it's fun when Derek gets involved with decorating).  What I liked even better was the fact that it was 40% off, which meant we would have leftover gift cards that we could potentially put towards these amazing stools.  

Meet Bill:

I love the white leather/wood combo and the chrome base.  The best part is that you can adjust their height, which I think is super convenient for different counter/table heights and personal preference.  

Before making the lighting purchase I wanted to make sure it was the right size.  I knew there was information out there regarding what size your dining light should be based on the size of the room and table and after a little research here I learned that:

• A dining light should be no wider than the width of the table minus 12 inches (this is a general calculation for all table sizes FYI).
• Although the dining light is a great focal point, you don't want an overbearing fixture over your table.

The dimensions of our table are 63 X 35.5 inches and the light is 20 X 20 inches.  I am just 3.5 inches away from going over the size limit based on the general calculation rule, and definitely don't think it will be overbearing.  Success!

I was quick to pop into ZONE a couple days later and placed my order for our new light. 

Derek and I have never installed a light before (a reason we're probably still alive) and we would also like to install a dimmer switch.  I think the plan is to invite over some handier friends who have this experience and offer them a nice dinner with wine in exchange for their skills and maybe a tutorial for the next time (read: our bedroom ceiling light).  I will let you know how the lighting installation goes!

As for those stools; they are next on our home purchase list.  But at $165 a pop X 2 we will need to save a few more pennies.   

It felt great to knock off a purchase from the list I put together all about showing our home some love (especially since I got to use gift cards!)  I'm looking forward to moving forward with a few more projects and updates, especially now that the weather is getting warmer and I can move out to the balcony do get stuff done (not to mention set it up for outdoor use which will be a project in itself!)

Even though I spend less time indoors during the summer, this weather is inspiring me for home decorating. Is it just me or is this fresh air energizing?!